


Prom Night

by orphan_account



Series: A lifetime of dances [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Established Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, F/F, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, Post-Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Prom, Secret Relationship, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26953831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's time for Emma and Regina to prepare for prom. From dress-shopping to the actual prom, how will everything go? Are they truly ready to make their relationship public?
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Series: A lifetime of dances [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1895743
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	Prom Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Finally the next episode of this series! To the people following this, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this story. Life can be a bitch sometimes and I haven't had time to write in a long time. I hope you like this new chapter, don't hesitate to leave feedback in the comments :)

Emma was exasperated. She should have never asked Snow to go dress-shopping with her for the prom. In a moment of weakness, she had told her mom she had been invited at the adult prom and that she still needed to find something to wear. Snow had very happily suggested going shopping together, since she of course had been asked to go with David. In that same moment of weakness, Emma had said yes and right now, she was regretting it deeply. They had gone on a daytrip to Portland and they were already at their fifth shop. Snow was still as chipper as always, but Emma was slowly losing her sanity. She really didn’t have the same taste in clothing as her mom and it was showing. Truth be told, she wasn’t even looking for a dress, she wanted a suit but Snow didn’t seem to catch up on that, even if Emma told her no at every dress she showed even before properly looking at it. Regina had told her that she didn’t need to wear a dress and that she just wanted her to be comfortable so they could dance together.

“What about this one sweetie?” Emma cringed as Snow showed her a frilly dress that looked like it came straight from a commercial for a fairytale-themed birthday party. She looked longingly at the man part of the store and at the suits she saw hanging there. She looked good in a suit, she felt comfortable in them and she felt special when wearing one, more confident than in a dress. She wanted her prom with Regina to be special and she didn’t want to be self-conscious the whole evening because she was wearing a dress. So, she took a deep breath and addressed her mother.

“Honestly, mom, no not that dress. It looks like a dress for a girly princess that didn’t grow up in the real world. And I don’t want other dresses either, to be honest. I’ve never felt comfortable in dresses, I’m just not a girl that likes to wear them. Could we maybe just check out the suit section of the store? I’m sure I will find something more to my tastes there and I’m pretty sure my date won’t mind if I show up in a suit. Quite the contrary actually” she chuckled. She looked worriedly at Snow and her heart tightened painfully at the shock she saw exposed in her mother’s eyes.

“You’re not going in a dress?” Snow asked loudly and clearly not okay with her daughter’s wishes. “But you’re a princess, Emma. People expect you to wear dresses. What will your citizens say if they see you in a suit? That’s not how it goes Emma, they need to see you as their princess, as their future queen. And they won’t do that if you show up in men’s clothes. And who is this date by the way? Which man who respects himself, would accept his date wearing a suit? You can’t date a slob Emma, the people of Storybrooke wouldn’t stand for it.”

“And you wouldn’t either, I suppose? Snow, there is so much wrong with what you just said. First of all, I’m not a princess and I certainly never will be a queen. I grew up in this world Snow, not in the Enchanted Forest, which is your fault by the way. And in this world, there are no queens or princesses and you have to respect that. And secondly, my date is very important to me, so don’t talk about them like that. At least they respect me enough to let me be myself and they want me to be comfortable and wouldn’t want to push me in a dress if I didn’t want one. And finally, I date whoever I want to date. You lost the privilege of lecturing me about my life when you put me in a wardrobe 30 years ago and sent me to an unknown world.” Emma felt herself getting angrier by the second, so she took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

Mary-Margaret looked ready to argue but when she looked up and saw the anger rising in Emma’s eyes, she decided to drop the subject for the moment. A bit curtly she added “Very well, if you want to wear a suit, go for it. You can look for one while I continue looking for a dress for myself, cause I like to look like a princess, which I still am, despite what you may think.” She turned on her heels and left Emma alone to look for a suit on her own.

Emma felt her shoulders sag in disappointment. She hated seeing that look of self-righteousness on Snow, but she had to stand up for herself sometimes and this was one of those times. After all, what right did Snow have to be this commanding over her life? She may be her birthmother, but she hadn’t been her mother for 28 years and she had no right to take on that role after that, as if she sent Emma away for her best interests. She shook the uneasy feeling off and went looking for the perfect suit. After 10 minutes, she found one that was perfect for her prom with Regina and she went to take measurements with the sales assistant to tailor the suit perfectly to her body. It would be delivered the next day at the mayoral mansion so she sent a quick text to Regina to tell her that a package with her prom clothes would arrive the following day and that she couldn’t open it under any circumstances. After that she went to find her mom, who had found a dress to her liking and they decided to take lunch together.

“I wonder who Regina is going to bring with her. “ Snow wondered out loud. “Do you have any idea? She bought two tickets and she organised the whole thing, so she must have a date and it’s not Henry, because I asked him and he’s going with Violet.” Emma almost choked on her salad. She didn’t want to lie to her mother, but with Regina, they had decided to only go public at the prom and not a moment before and she wanted to hold on to that decision and not take away Regina’s choice.

“No, I have no idea. Whoever it is, we’ll see at the prom, I guess.” she mumbled, hoping against hope that her mother would give up.

“She never told you anything? Not even on your lunch meetings? You seem to spend a lot of time with her lately. Has she never mentioned someone special she might want to go to prom with?”

Emma blushed, she didn’t think her mother would have noticed that she had started spending a lot more time with Regina. “No Snow, she never told me about taking someone else to prom. I’m just happy for her, she deserves to have some love in her life after everything she’s been trough.” Emma fought hard to keep the smile of her face when she thought about her girlfriend.

“Well, maybe she shouldn’t have cursed everyone and she would still have had a second chance at love in our world. I know my father loved her, but she never gave him a chance. I hope she didn’t start dating a new villain, like that time she dated Maleficent, otherwise Charming and I will have to intervene.” Snow said with disdain, not noticing that her daughter was getting really angry.

“What? You’re going to intervene?!” she exclaimed, “Why would you think you ever have that right? It’s her life, Snow and you’ve done enough meddling as it is. Stay out of Regina’s love life this time. And by the way, Maleficent was a better person to Regina than Leopold has ever been, no matter what he made you believe. You know what? I’m not going to talk with you about this. I’m going home. Stay out of Regina’s life, Snow.” With that, she stormed out of the restaurant they were having lunch at, leaving a dumbfounded Mary-Margaret behind. Emma got in her car and drove straight to the mansion, needing the comfort she was sure the Mayor would offer her. She saw Regina’s car parked in the driveway and was relieved to see she was already home. She knocked on the door and waited until Regina opened.

“Emma...What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to go shopping with your mother?”

“We were done shopping. I found what I’m going to wear for prom. We went to lunch after that, but she said some bad things and I kinda just took off. Can I come in? I could really use your company right now.”

“Of course dear, come in. There’s a tray of fresh baked cookies in the kitchen if you want. They were supposed to be for Henry, but I guess you can have one too.” She smiled, pulling Emma with her to the kitchen. 

“Oh Regina, you truly are the perfect woman, aren’t you?” Emma teased, helping herself to a cookie and moaning at the taste.

“Not quite dear, but thank you for the sentiment. Do you want to talk about whatever it is your insipid mother did this time?” Regina asked, knowing Emma would feel better if she talked about it. Her girlfriend tended to keep everything to herself until it became too much and she didn’t want that for her.

“It was just Snow being Snow. You know how much she likes gossiping and she was talking about your mystery date for the prom and when I said I didn’t know who it was, she started saying that it better not be someone like Maleficent, because she and Charming would not allow it. I mean, how dare she? Who taught her to be such an arrogant brat?” Emma vented, knowing she was safe with Regina and she didn’t have to hold anything in.

“I think my ex-husband did that”, Regina quipped, “But what do you mean by ‘someone like Maleficent’ dear? A woman or a villain? Because if she means a villain, she doesn’t have to worry, but if she means a woman, I’m afraid I will have to disappoint her.

“Obviously she meant a villain Regina, but I’m pretty sure she won’t be thrilled to find out her daughter is gay. She still thinks my happy ending is with Hook or Neal. She hasn’t even noticed how much happier I am lately.” 

“Oh, you’re happier recently, aren’t you? Is there anything I should know Miss Swan?” Regina asked teasingly, trying to alleviate the conversation a little bit.

“Yes, you, make me very happy Regina” Emma responded softly, before pulling Regina to her and kissing her gently. It was true, Regina made her happier than she had ever been. 

Friday night came sooner than either of them had expected. Emma had never been so nervous as she was then. Tonight was finally the night she would go public with Regina. On one hand, she was really happy about it, she wouldn’t have to hide much longer and she would be able to show the world how happy Regina made her. On the other hand, she was terrified about the reaction of the townspeople. Would they get between her and Regina? What would happen then? And what would her parents say? She knew she was ready to give them up in order to stay with Regina, she would give everything up for her, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt. 

They had decided to get ready separately, so they would be surprised when they first saw eachother in prom clothes. When she knocked on the door at Mifflin Street, her stomach was in knots, but she couldn’t stop smiling. She was excited about seeing Regina in a prom dress and she wondered what her reaction would be to Emma in a suit. She had picked out a grey one and she looked really good in it, if she said so herself. Her mom might not think the same but she knew she looked good in suits and she knew Regina would think that too. Something that was confirmed a few moments later, when Regina opened the door and they stood there staring at each other for a while. Both women were seemingly speechless and Emma was the first to recover from the sight.

“Wow...Regina...You look amazing, there are no words.” she breathed out. It made Regina snap out of it, and she finally looked in Emma’s eyes.

“I can say the same about you,my love. I’m not sure I want to share that view with anyone else tonight. Maybe we better stay home tonight?” She smiled at Emma, to let her know she was only joking. There was no way she would take this prom away from her love.

“Nope, we’re going. I never imagined going to a prom one day, so to go to one with a woman as beautiful as you on my arm is not something I’m willing to let go.” Emma answered. She offered her arm to Regina and together they walked to Emma’s bug and they made their way to the school gym, where the prom would be held. Emma was surprisingly relaxed when they stepped out of the car. All her nerves had disappeared when she had seen Regina. She knew she could get over a bad reaction from the town if she had her girlfriend by her side. She took Regina’s hand and laced their fingers together, took a deep breath and started to walk to the entrance of the gym. Now or never, she thought.

For the first hour of the night, nobody really noticed that the Savior had arrived together with the Evil Queen. They just stood talking together as the music wasn’t good enough yet to really dance to it. Emma thought that maybe people had noticed but they just didn’t care. Maybe this evening wouldn’t turn out to be like she had feared. Maybe she would be able to simply enjoy being with Regina. The hopeful feeling lasted until a certain pirate made his way to the couple and, completely ignoring the brunette woman, he started talking to Emma. At the same time, Perfect from Ed Sheeran started blasting through the speakers.

“Swan, don’t you think now would be a good time to thank me for everything I’ve done in Neverland? Let”s have a dance.” He said, smirking his arrogant smirk, obviously deluding himself into thinking it was charming.

“Hook, I already said thank you for what happened in Neverland. I don’t owe you anything else. Besides, I only want to dance with one person tonight and that’s not you.” She turned to Regina and nervously asked “Would you do me the honor of a dance, my queen?”

Regina’s smile widened and without looking back at Hook, she accepted Emma’s hand and they made their way to the dance floor. She noticed that Emma was nervously looking around to see if anyone would react badly. Emma tightened her hold on Regina.  
“I can’t actually dance in front of people. This is so much different than when we dance together in your kitchen. Don’t let me trip over my feet please.” Emma pleaded to Regina, still looking anywhere but at her girlfriend.

Regina placed her fingers under Emma’s chin and made her look into her eyes. “Don’t be nervous Princess, it’s just you and me. I won’t let you fall, I promise.” They both knew she was talking about so much more than the dance, so Emma allowed herself to relax into Regina’s arms and just followed her lead. She couldn’t help but think that the song was very fitting for them and she once again wondered how it was possible to be this happy. But of course, life just couldn’t let Emma be happy.

“What the hell is going on here?” Snow cried out, marching furiously towards the couple. She looked more angry than Regina had ever seen her and that was telling in itself. On instinct, Emma put herself in front of Regina, as if to protect her from an imminent danger. She said nothing, just waited until Snow was close enough to continue her rant.

“Regina, where is your date? Shouldn’t you be dancing with him, instead of taking up Emma’s time? I’m sure Emma would much rather dance with Hook or Neal.” She spat at Regina, not noticing that Emma’s eyes were darkening in anger.

“Mom, it’s fine. Stop making a big deal of this. Go dance with David and let me go on with my business”

“Emma, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to spend time with someone like her. You don’t know what she’s capable of. You’re my daughter and you know how much she hurt our family in the past.”

“Mom, I was the one to ask her for this dance, so chill out okay? Besides, Regina has changed and she would never hurt me.”

“What do you mean, you asked her to dance? Why would you do such a thing?” Snow screeched.

“Because this is a prom and you’re meant to dance with your partner, so I dance with my partner.” Emma answered nonchalantly, like she hadn’t just dropped a huge bomb. She heard the whole gym take in a gasp when she tightened her hold on Regina’s hand and everyone suddenly understood they were together. Everyone started shouting slurs at Regina accusing her of the worst things so Emma told her mom they would continue their conversation in private, outside and she pulled Regina with her so they could escape the rest of the town that were looking ready to kill. Snow didn’t let them have any space and she was hot on their heels, possibly looking even more furious than minutes earlier.

“You have some explaining to do, Regina! What the hell are you plotting now? Didn’t you make me suffer enough already?” Snow demanded.

“I’m not plotting anything Snow. I was just giving Emma the prom experience she deserves. I planned this whole prom, because Emma told me she never had one worthy of that name. I wanted to make it right for her, because I love her and she deserves to have a prom with someone she loves.” Regina admitted calmly,hoping that Snow would hear the truth in her words. She didn’t want to be the cause of a fight between the blonde and her parents. Emma had already suffered enough because of her and she didn’t want to cause anymore pain to the woman she had come to love deeply. As much as it terrified her, if that meant that she had to tell Snow the truth about her love life once again, so be it.

“Good try Regina, we all know you are incapable of love. Now, let go of Emma and let her dance with her true love. I’m sure Hook is ready to give her a second chance if she apologizes. But you will, right Emma? Hook is waiting for you inside.”

“Mom, no, Hook is not my true love.” Emma answered with a disgusted face. “And I’m not apologizing for dancing with the woman I love. That’s right mom,” she said at the surprise in her mother’s face, “I love her, more than I have ever loved anyone else in my life. You were wondering who Regina’s date was for this prom, huh? Well, it was me. Surprise! Seriously mom, Regina IS capable of love and I’m the proof of that. Please, I really love her and she makes me happier than I’ve ever been. Can we just go back to dancing please?” 

“Emma, I’m not sure what’s happening exactly, but I know she is plotting something. She’s evil, you can’t trust her.” Snow persisted.

“But I do, I trust her.”

“Emma...you know I love you, but I can’t accept this. Regina is not your true love. You can’t be with her. If you come back home with us now, I’m sure David and I will be able to forgive you for this. But you have to stop this. It hurts us, but everyone makes mistakes. We are your parents, you have to believe us when we say this is for the best. Come home, Emma and we will see how to go from there.”

“Are you crazy? No, I’m not coming home with you? What is wrong with you? Regina is not a mistake, and she will never be.” Emma retorted.

“Emma, come on, you know we can’t accept this, it’s wrong. You belong with a man.” 

“I belong with Regina.”

“Emma, stop being so stubborn. You have to choose. It’s her or us. You can keep seeing her, but then we don’t want to have anything to do with you. Or you can come home with us, your parents and we will find you a suitable man.”

At this, Regina had to intervene. She had feared this moment would come, but now she had no other choice. “Emma...sweetheart, listen to your mother. I don’t want you to lose them. You lost them once already because of me. Go home with them. I love you, and I know how important family is to you. It is important to me too. So don’t lose them because of me, I’m not worth it. Being with me will hurt you more than being with your family will. You deserve their love and I’m not part of that package unfortunately. Believe me, I don’t want to let you go, but I have to. I want your happiness more than I want my own, so go with them. You searched 28 years for them, so don’t let them get away now, because of me. I feared this moment would come, but this is the right thing to do. I would never make you choose between me and them, so go home with your parents dear, forget about me and start your life again. You will be happy again and find someone else who loves you the way you deserve. The town will leave you alone and they will see you as their saviour. If you stay with me, they’ll turn on you, and I really don’t want that for you. It’s better for the town, for your parents and for you if you go home with them. But you have to know, you’ll always be welcome with me, Emma, I love you so much. But I’ve learned that sometimes when you love someone, you have to let go.” Regina had tears streaming down her face at her speech. She really didn’t want to say goodbye to Emma, but it was the right thing to do.

“You would let me go to make me happy?” Emma asked, incredulously.

“Yes, your happiness is all I want.” Regina answered honestly.

Emma straightened her spine at that and turned to her mother again. “You see, mom that’s what love is. Regina doesn’t want me to make a choice. You force me to make one and that’s where you lost me. By forcing me to choose, you pushed me even more towards Regina. I lived for 28 years without my parents, I can live without you again. But I’ve also lived 28 years without love, and that’s not something I can live without again. I don’t want to let go of the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And if because of that, I have to let you out of my life, then that means you never had your place in it. I’m sorry and I truly hope you will come around because I kinda liked having real parents but, I choose Regina.” She turned to Regina and whispered in her ear, “Poof us home, I don’t want to be here for a minute longer.”

So Regina took them home. They would have to talk about what happened and what they would do about the town, but for now they would just enjoy the rest of their prom at home, together and happy. It may not have been the prom they dreamed about, but at the mansion dancing in each other's arms, they felt more at peace than they had all evening. After all, wasn’t that the true essence of a prom; feeling happy and content with your partner? Did it matter if it was in the confines of their own home? Both Regina and Emma had the answer to that. No, it didn’t matter where they were as long as they had each other.

**Author's Note:**

> There's more coming for this story, but for now, this is it! What did you think? If you have comments/thoughts/feedback/..., please leave a comment here or on my tumblr (swanqsposts). Comments and feedback are the only way for writers to do better in future works, so please don't be shy!


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